i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for being with me today. "the lead with jake tapper" starts right now. president trump attacking his fbi director again. what could go wrong? "the lead" starts right now. investigating the investigators. the attorney general now looking at how the russia probe began in the first place, as president trump denies he had anything to do with this idea. the fight is officially on between the front-runner, joe biden and the freshman, alexandria ocasio-cortez. whose democratic party is it? plus, he's been giving uber rides while awaiting civil trial for war crimes, including torture and attempted murder. how did that slip through the background check, uber? welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. today, cnn is learning that attorney general william barr is undertaking a broad effort to

investigate how the russia investigation began. and that's our politics lead today. a source telling cnn, this will be a 360-degree review, involving the cia, the fbi, and the office of the director of national intelligence. all looking into the origins of the russia probe. barr is leadi ining this effort along with john durham in connecticut. president trump has of course referred to the law enforcement investigation into russian election interference as an attempted coup. and now the president's hoping for evidence to bolster this false claim, despite all the facts laid out in the mueller report showing russian attempts to penetrate his campaign. and despite the expert opinions of his own political poiappoint that the investigation was justified and that there was no illegal spying on his campaign. >> based upon what i knew in may of 2017, the investigation of russia election interference was

justified. >> do you have any evidence that any illegal surveillance into the campaigns or individuals associated with the campaigns by the fbi occurred? >> i don't think i personally have any evidence of that sort. >> attorney general barr seems to have a different take, and president trump today said he's, quote, so proud of barr for taking this action. but the president also claims he did not know about it or ask the attorney general to do this. though, of course, we know that president trump has, well, strongly hinted about his desire for another investigation into how the russia probe began, including last month, when the president offered this subtle tweet. quote, investigate the investigators! president trump is now attacking those in his administration who dispute his allegations, such as fbi director wray, after wray distanced himself from the president's claims that there was spying on the trump campaign. president trump today called that answer and raised

testimony, quote, ridiculous. and this falls the president's attacking wray on twitter. quoting a right-wing activist saying that the fbi has no leadership and that wray, quote, is protecting the same gang that tried to overthrow the president through an illegal coup, unquote. again, no illegal coup. cnn's pamela brown kicks off our coverage today from the white house. >> reporter: president trump getting his wish. cnn haze learned attorney general bill barr is widening his investigation into the origins of the russia probe, by leveraging resources across the intelligence and law enforcement communities. >> they want to look at how that whole hoax got started. it was a hoax. >> reporter: the source says barr is, quote, very involved in the probe, collaborating with the heads of three major intelligence organizations, director of national intelligence, dan coats, cia director gina haspel, and fbi director, christopher wray. >> i didn't ask him to do that. i didn't know it. >> reporter: while trump claims

he didn't directly ask barr to investigate, he has long complained about the mueller probe and publicly urged barr to look into it, including just a few weeks ago. >> what i'm most interested in is getting started, hopefully the attorney general, he mentioned it yesterday, he's doing a great job, getting started on going back to the or g igins of exactly where this all started. >> reporter: barr previously testified he intended to look into it, even though the justice department's inspector general was already investigating. >> many people seem to assume that the only intelligence collection that occurred was a single confidential informant and a fisa warrant. i would like to find out whether that is, in fact, true. >> reporter: barr this week adding another layer to his investigation of the investigators, tapping the u.s. attorney in connecticut, john

durham, to help conduct a comprehensive, 360-degree review. >> we finally have somebody outside of politics. and i want to give mr. durhdurham -- is that his name? i don't even know him -- the space to do his job. >> reporter: the relatively unknown durham was previously tasked with investigating cia treatment of terror suspects under president obama. durham's installation is already giving a key senate republican reason to halt his own investigation. >> i don't want to mess up his criminal investigation and i don't want to put people at risk. so i'm going to back off. >> reporter: and back here at the white house, president trump also weigh eed in on the congressional subpoena issued to his son, don junior, saying it's unfair. and we have learned, jake, through sources familiar with the matter, that the deadline to respond to this subpoena was extended yesterday at the last minute, until close of business today, and that negotiations are continuing. of course, time is running out today, so we'll have to see if

any resolution is reached or if another extension happens. jake? >> pamela brown at the white house, thanks so much. let's dive into this with my experts. kaitlan collins, let me start with you. there already were two investigations into the origins of the russia probe. rosenstein last night said that this was justified, the probe, wray has said it was done appropriately. what's the reason that this is happening? >> well, ever since this report has come out, we've only seen the calls from the president and his allies grow to have this, to have the investigators be investigated. and not only that, they wanted a special counsel to investigate this, which would be a pretty high step for them to take, but they thought that is what they wanted to counter mueller. this is much lower than that. this u.s. attorney is not going to have the independence that a special counsel would have to look at this, but it does seem to be a significant step, that they are trying to please the president and do what he would like here, because he does want

this and his calls have only increased in the coming days. >> david, what's -- i mean, is there any substantiative reason to think that this is going to result in proof of an illegal coup? >> listen, i think what is warranted is, you know, is a thorough investigation of the steele dossier. i think that's what's being called for. i think it gets blown up a little bit here and taken out of context. as you know, i would rather be talking about the front page of "the philadelphia inquirer" story yesterday that said, you know, pennsylvania economy thrives under trump. which is a problem for democrats in 2020. i think that's a better path to be going down for the president. i think that's a better path to victory, but we're not going that way for whatever reason. >> the essence of his message to his supporters is that you are under siege from forces that are out to oppress me and suppress you. and you know, it's either contem contemptuous elites from above or minorities from the other direction and a critical part of

his message is, i think, within that broader context, is that there is this deep state conspiracy that is trying not so much to sideline me, as to sideline you. and so he needs this narrative. and whatever they find, he will be making this argument in 2020 that it was a coup designed, really, to silence you. he will be telling his supporters that over the next year and a half. >> and frankly, it's a distraction, right? because there are some things that still exist in mueller's report. there are some things that are still going on with congressional investigations. what's amazing to me is on one hand, donald trump will argue that there are too many investigations, this needs to be over with, it's time to move on. but on the other hand, the department of justice inspector general, who is independent, caitlin, as you said, that's not good enough. they need to have some political ammo, to your point, ron, to keep this going. so that's what's fascinating here. >> and here's the former fbi general counsel, james baker, defending the fbi's action in the russia investigation on cnn

last night. >> there was no intention to do anything wrong. focus on russia, foreign intelligence and any americans that were in connection with them. >> what's also curious about this is that the mueller report, which the president has sometimes praised and sometimes criticized, but he called it the gold standard the other day, details all the ways that russia was trying to interfere in the election, not, again, there was no proof of criminal conspiracy that was prosecutable, but the mueller report, the gold start, in the president's words, shows why there was this investigation. >> that's right. and not only that, it also shows that the russians did interfere in the election and that they did hack into democratic e-mails. but the president's line, ever since this report came out was not only that there was no collusion from his camp, but that on the other side, that's where the crimes were. meaning the democrats. which is --

>> if you're going to start throwing dust in the air to look at things, if i was the president of the administration, i would say, listen, this all took place under the watch of clapper, brennan, the obama administration. why don't we have those folks in and let's have them before committees and ask them, why didn't they step up and do more? >> because when they get in front of the committee, they'll say, they wanted to step up and do more, and mitch mcconnell said that he would go public and say this was a partisan effort to tilt the election. >> and they need to be heard more. i think that's what -- because you're not getting to that. that's what you're not getting -- and the other side, the people who believe the steele dossier is not true, that's what you need to uncover.

somebody showed up with george papadopoulos. some woman, it was an fbi agent or a cia operative and it feeds the narrative. it continues to feed the narrative. >> but, but -- >> what were you going to say? >> sorry, i think that my issue here is that there are congressional investigations that are still going on. and if you want to shed some light on them, then you have to cooperate with them. so there's a message to take back to the trump administration, if you really do want to get to the bottom of things, yao gou've got to in so ways cooperate. >> there's also a contrast here. no matter what else the trump campaign did, it did not go to the fbi, it did not go to law enforcement and say, hey, we have this sequence of events in which russians are trying to interject themselves into our campaign. whatever else you can say about the fbi, they took favastly mor seriously the evidence that russia was trying to insert itself into the 2016 presidential election and kind of undertook a kind of counterintelligence investigation in contrast to trump son campaign manager,

others who basically, and what was the language in the mueller report? basically knew this was happening and thought they would benefit from it and did not go to law enforcement. >> all right, everyone, stick around. joe biden is picking a fight on the campaign trail with one of the most well-known members of his party. and then a cnn exclusive on how an accused war criminal became a highly rated uber driver lighter in the united states. that's ahead. you're a burger. [ laughter ] -everyone acts like their parents. -you have a tattoo. -yes. -fun. do you not work? -so, what kind of mower you got, seth? -i don't know. some kid comes over. we pay him to do it. -but it's not all bad. someone even showed us how we can save money by bundling home and auto with progressive. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but we can protect your home and auto.

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road on the environment. >> reporter: that statement comes after new york congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez appeared to take a swipe at biden. >> and i will be damned if the same politicians who refused to act then are going to try to come back today and say, we need a middle of the -- a middle of the road approach to save our lives. that is too much for me. >> reporter: the former vice president pushed back, insisting his looming climate change plan, expected later this month, will satisfy progressives. >> she'll find that nobody has been more consistent about taking on the environment and the green revolution than i have. i don't think she's talking about me. >> biden is navigating through a democratic primary field, on issues like the green new deal and medicare for all. >> there are very loud voices on the very new progressive side of the agenda. and i think it's useful. i think they're good. they're smart people, and they

should be able to be making their case. >> reporter: as biden wraps his new hampshire swing, the 2020 field added one more. >> any thoughts on steve bullock getting in the race? >> he's a good guy. >> reporter: steve bullock becoming the 22nd democrat to join the presidential race. >> look, to be honest, i never thought i would be running for president. >> reporter: the little-known montana governor focusing his campaign as a fight against dark money in politics and promoting his ability to win in a red state. >> as a democratic governor of a state that trump won by 20 points, i don't have the luxury of just talking to people who agree with me. you'll remember joe biden has only been in the race for a little over two weeks. and on saturday, he'll have his final kickoff rally in philadelphia and then he's turning to another phase of the campaign. a biden campaign official tells me that he will have a series of policy rollouts over the next couple of months. jake? >> all right. arlette saenz traveling with former vice president joe biden. let's discuss.

angela, you heard biden say he never said middle ground or middle of the road the way that ocasio-cortez was, i think, very clearly going after him. one of biden's climate change advisers did use the term. reuters reported her saying, quote, what we heard from the obama administration is unless we find middle ground on these issues, we risk not having any policies. and senator bernie sanders, we should point out, also tweeted last night, there is no middle ground when it comes to climate policy. so it's on. i mean, progressives are taking issue with joe biden. >> yeah, i think that it's not even just joe biden. it is the middle of the road approach. you cannot, i think, in this day and age, have a good progressive backing and still try to be slightly conservative. i think our reality is that joe biden regularly touts from being from scranton, pennsylvania. being able to talk to that rural or blue collar worker who tends to lean conservative. that is absolutely what he does.

is he going to be able to say that he is the biggest champion of climate change in history? like, whatever he said in this clip? not exactly. it's a slight overstatement. and so i think he is going to have to come to terms with his record. and also talk about the future. what is he going to do going forward. >> he does seem to have come to terms with, that is not going to be his coalition in the primary. if you look at the polling, he is much stronger with older than younger voters, who tend to be more moderate. and also, where 60% of all of the democratic primary voters in 2016 were over 45. and you know the aide, when she's talking about in the obama administration, that was the reality. they passed cap and trade climate legislation through the house. they could not take it up in the senate. and if you look today, the 20 states that have the most per capita carbon emissions, that are the most tied into the energy economy, republicans have 35 of the 40 senate seats from those states. so ultimately, if you are going

to pass something and not just do something with executive action, which is vulnerable to the courts, you do need a policy that can win over at least some support in the energy-producing parts of the country. >> i would just point out that aoc is not running for president and doesn't have to win in pennsylvania, where there's carbon county, pennsylvania. what do you think comes out of carbon county? coal. there's a county named after coal in pennsylvania. >> and i just want to say this in her defense. she may have one of the safest districts in the country, but she's taking up some of the toughest issues right now in the country. so we shouldn't -- i hope that we can get to a place where we don't just divide based on where people live or where they work or what zip code. the reality of it is, the people that are in those high energy producing areas are the most likely to be hurt by the lack of climate change policy. >> this is what the trump campaign is hoping for. that people like aoc will push some of these candidates further to the left, so it will be easier for the president. especially people like joe biden, who the trump campaign and president trump clearly from his twitter feed, are very focused on.

because they are worried that they'll take those moderate voters. >> and you just said, president trump is in louisiana right now. >> speaking about a natural gas event, talking to people. and it's an official taxpayer funded white house event, but the president instead of focusing on the remarks he had, actually took time on stage to go after a lot of the people who were hoping to run against him in 2020, calling them out by name, not only bernie sanders and elizabeth warren and beto o'rourke, but also joe biden and that's not typically what you see, where it's a taxpayer-funded event, but the president uses it as a political stage. >> something else biden is being attacked on from the left is his role in the 1994 crime bill. he talked about that earlier today. take a listen. >> let's get something straight. 92 out of every 100 prisoners end up behind bars nor in a stae prison, not a federal prison. this idea that the crime bill generated mass incarceration, it did not generate mass

incarcerati incarceration. >> so he's -- you're shaking your head and putting your head. he's playing defense. >> he's clearly not -- i'll say that much. >> he's saying that the crime bill is not the reason -- >> i'm trying to understand why. and who advised him to take this president? the reality of it is, in an era where the young people who are going to vote in this election had parents who were incarcer e incarcerated, maybe it wasn't in federal prison, but you cannot separate the fact that federal policy often is a game changer and the thing that sets policy for the states. he should just own it and distance himself from that and say what he's going to do now. >> he's right that the vast majority of prisoners are in state prison. and it is just one example of this larger problem. i published something today on cnn.com. biden, if he is the nominee in 2020, will be the nominee 50 years after he first won public elected office in 1970.

that has never happened in american history going back to 1828, to the formation of the modern party system. it would be the biggest span between initial election and further nomination as a presidential nominee. the only one that's close, by the way, is bob dole in '96. so you can see, all of these issues in an ordinary circumstance would be a huge issue. the big difference, though, is that with trump as the backdrop, there are clearly a lot of democratic voters who are going to be more forgiving about this record because they believe he has the best chance to beat him. >> everybody, stick around, vladimir putin and secretary of state mike pompeo one on one, and not only did they talk about russian interference in the 2016 election, but putin brought it up first with some surprising words about robert mueller. stay with us.

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xfinity xfi gives you the speed, coverage and control you need. manage your wifi network from anywhere when you download the xfi app today. and we have some breaking news for you now. cnn has confirmed that the house intelligence committee is seeking information from attorneys representing president trump and his families, specifically as it relates to michael cohen's false testimony about the proposed trump tower moscow project, which cohen says was changed by trump lawyers. "the new york times" was the first to report this story. cnn's manu raju is on capitol hill. and what can you tell us? what is the committee specifically asking for? >> reporter: well, they want these lawyers to turn over documents and submit to interviews as part of this committee's investigation into potential obstruction of its own previous probe into russian interference. now, this all stems back from

michael cohen's testimony to this very committee, when he downplayed the effort to try to get that trump tower moscow project back in 2017, when he testified. he downplayed the role of the trump organizations pursued, suggested that it ended in january of 2016, when it went on much longer. he later acknowledged lying, and that's one of the things he pleaded guilty to. now, after the democrats took control in this congress, they brought michael cohen back to this committee. he provided the committee with edited statements that showed that he had some -- there was some involvement by trump attorneys before he testified, before the house committee back in 2017. now, what adam schiff is asking for is more information about their effort to help michael cohen, before that testimony. adam schiff alleging here that these attorneys coordinated, reviewed, shaped and edited that false testimony. he wants this information. now, the trump attorneys are

pushing back. they are saying that this is a fishing expedition, and also, adam schiff could issue a subpoena. a committee official tells us that an area that they could pursue, but a new line of inquiry going forward and a new fight between the trump organization and the president's team and house democrats. jake? >> all right. manu raju on capitol hill, thank you so much. and as that potential subpoena fight looms, there is a major test in federal court today for the trump administration's stonewalling strategy of house democrats. a judge deciding whether president trump can sue to block a subpoena issued by the house oversight committee, demanding eight years of the president's financial records. cnn's sara murray joins me now live from the courthouse here in washington, d.c. and sara, what did the judge say to the president's lawyers today? >> well, look, the judge essentially made it known that it's very rare for a judge to intervene like this and to essentially narrow the scope of a congressional investigation.

the president's lawyers are making the argument that there's no real legislative purpose for this. that, you know, the house is just essentially looking to do this as some kind of politically motivated dive into president trump's personal finances and his business. but the judge pointed out that there's been in supreme court case, no appellate ruling since 1880. they found out that congress overstepped its subpoena. so that sort of gives you an inkling of where the judge's head is. that said, this judge realizes he's weighing in on a very substantial legal issue today. he did not making a ruling from the bench today. we could hear more next week, jake. >> sara murray outside the courthouse today, thank you so much. in the world lead today, russian president vladimir putin praised special counsel robert mueller today during a meeting with secretary of state mike pompeo and said that mueller proved there was no collusion between the trump campaign and his russian government. this as putin's top diplomat took it a step further, saying there was no cold, hard evidence that russia interfered in the election. cnn's matthew chance reports now

from moscow. >> reporter: america's top diplomat arrived in russia. the strongman in the kremlin made a dramatic entrance of his own. vladimir putin's presidential plane, escorted by six stealth fighters, as he swooped into a military testing site to inspect russia's latest high-tech weapo weapons sends a powerful message about putin's priority. shortly thereafter, meeting with secretary of state mike pompeo about a range of issues, but it was putin who brought up the support by special counsel robert mueller. >> however exotic the work of special counsel mueller was, i have to say that on the whole, he had a very objective investigation. and he confirmed that there are no traces whatsoever of collusion between russia and the incumbent administration, which we said was absolutely fake. >> reporter: not far in the southern city of sochi, election

interference also came up when pompeo met his russian counterpart for what were described as frank discussions on a range of issues. >> translator: there was a wave of baseless allegations about our attempts to influence the result and to collude with officials in the current u.s. administration. it is obvious that such insinuations are absolutely fake. >> you can see we have some disagreements on this issue. >> reporter: pompeo even issuing a warning to his counterpart. >> the russians were engaged in that in 2020 would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been and encourage them not to do that, that we would not tolerate that. >> reporter: but on virtually every other issue of international diplomacy, the two sides seem fundamentally opposed. whether on the conflict in syria, how best to deal with north korea and its nuclear threat, or escalating tensions between the u.s. and iran, a key russian ally. >> i hope very much that common sense will triumph.

>> reporter: adding insult to injury, the planned meeting with the russian president was badly delayed. vladimir putin is notorious for keeping his guests waiting. washington may have to wait much ys.ger for russia to change its well, president putin said he'd recently spoken with u.s. president trump, saying that he got the impression that the u.s. leader wanted to restore relations with russia. he said he wanted the same, but clearly after all of these denials about election interference that we've been hearing this evening in sochi, not at the cost of admitting any wrongdoing in those 2016 presidential polls. jake? >> matthew chance, thank you so much for that report. president trump, who has pushed to pull troops out of syria and afghanistan just made a stunning statement about sending u.s. forces to possibly face off with iran. and that story is next. you're turning onto the street

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in our world lead today, president trump saying today there is no plan to send up to 120,000 u.s. troops to the middle east, despite administration officials telling "the new york times" that the president's top national security officials reviewed such a plan in the event that iran attacks u.s. troops or speeds up its nuclear weapons program. >> now, would i do that? absolutely. but we have not planned for that. hopefully, we're not going to have to plan for that. and if we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that. >> i want to bring in republican senator tom cotton of arkansas. he's a member of the senate intelligence committee. he's also an army veteran that served in iraq and afghanistan. the senator is also out with a brand-new book out today,

"sacred duty: a soldier's tour at arlington national cemetery." senator, i'll get to the book in a second, and it's really a great read. congratulations on the book. but i want to ask you, because you're something of a hawk on the iran issue, do you think the american salespeople would support american troops getting involved in another war in the middle east? >> well, we don't seek conflict with iran. we want iran to change its behavior and rejoin the civilized world and stop supporting terrorism and supporting armed insurgency across the middle east that undermine our allies. we will always defend ourselves so and defend our allies across the world. and that includes in addition, not just iran, but its proxy forces throughout the region. >> but do you think that the american people are up to speed and prepared for more troops to be sent? >> i think for 40 years, the american people have known that iran chants "death to america." we've had military conflict with iran before, when they tried to shut down tankers coming out of the strait of hormuz and the persian gulf in the late 1980s. i hope it doesn't come to that. it would only be in response to iranian provocations.

that's why those provocations would be a grave miscalculation by the ayatollahs. >> you're a member of the senate intelligence committee that just issued a subpoena a few weeks ago to donald trump junior. do you support the subpoena? >> senator burr has already said, there's no collusion found by our committee. that's because there was no collusion. what we're trying to do is get to the bottom of exactly what russia was up to, so we know what techniques russia uses so we can make sure they don't do it again in the future. i know that senator burr and donald trump junior's lawyers are trying to work out some kind of compromise while we can get that information necessary while also respecting his position. >> your colleague, lindsey graham, again today reiterated that donald trump junior should ignore the subpoena. take a listen. >> if i were his lawyer, i wouldn't put him back into this circus. he's been to the committee two or three -- three different committees, he's testified under oath. >> would you agree that donald trump should ignore a subpoena

from your committee? >> i hope that the committee can get the information that the committee needs to figure out exactly what russia was up to, to clear up any discrepancies created by other testimony or other evidence that's come forward, so we can make sure that russia doesn't interfere hour elections again. >> it sounds like you're saying, no, you wouldn't support it. so you served in iraq and you served in afghanistan. but this book is about the old guard at arlington national cemetery, the people that make sure that the funerals go as planned, whether they're at arlington or elsewhere. why? what kind right about your war experiences? why was this important to you? >> the old guard of arlington holds a special place in the hearts of americans. i see that all the time. they tell me almost always the highlight of their trip was arlington national cemetery. more than 4 million people a year go through the gates of the se cemetery and come away with a sense of awe and inspiration and reverence for that place and for all fellow americans that lay down the ultimate sacrifice. but no one's ever told the old guard before. there's never been a book-length

treatment about these young men and women whose job it is to perform military funerals and guard the tomb of the unknown funeral is done. it's to show them the honor and love that all americans hold for them. >> and you write in your book, quote, we live in politically divided times to be sure, yet the military remains our nation's most respected institution. and the fields of arlington are one place where we can set aside our differences. and i have to say, i'm a little -- you are a partisan republican, proudly so. you're a sharp washington player. and the book is not that at all. the book is entirely for anybody, not for republicans, not for conservatives, for anyone. >> i hope so. and i had plenty of time to share my ideas for our country. but arlington is a special place. it has been from the very beginning. it's ironic that arlington is a place of unity and reconciliation. because as i write in "sacred

duty," it was born in the ashes of the civil war. arlington used to be the plantation of robert e. lee and his wife, the union army occupied it and turned it into a graveyard. and ultimately it became our national cemetery. and it has been that place of unity and reconciliation ever since. so it's somewhat ironic that it's such a special place for all americans of all races and religions and regions and political viewpoints, but it really is a place, as abraham lincoln said in the first inaugural, where the mystic cords of memory stretch. >> and it's a lovely tribute to them. good luck with the book, "sacred duty," senator tom cotton. really appreciate it. he has almost a five-star rating as an uber driver, but this man is also a war criminal. a cnn exclusive that anyone who takes an uber or a lyft needs to see.

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in our buried lead now, could your next five-star uber driver be a war criminal? well, for riders in virginia, that was a real possibility until today. a cnn investigation found this man, youssef abdali, who was accused of horrific crimes committed in somali, information found through an online search. drew griffin looked at how he got the okay to drive. >> reporter: yousef abdi ali is a war criminal, facing a civil trial in virginia, alleging he's responsible for atrocities including torture and attempted murder in somalia in the 1980s. while awaiting trial, he has been driving for uber. >> ali? >> yes, sir! he's just coming now. >> reporter: undercover cnn producers last week ordered an

uber in northern virginia. youssef, listed on the app as an diamond driver picked him up. >> where are you from? >> somalia. >> sir, i was surprised to see that you drive for uber and lyft. did the background checks of those companies not reveal the fact that you're accused of torture and murder and about to face a trial here for basically terrorizing communities? just how uber and lyft missed the accusations exposes a potential hole in their screening processes. a simple google search of ali's name brings up article after article about his alleged brutalities as a commander in the somalian security force, a major expose by cnn in 2016 found the alleged war criminal -- >> oh, okay. >> reporter: -- working as a security guard at dulles international airport, a job he was fired from shortly after the report aired. and a search would have also revealed this, a canadian broadcasting corporation

documentary, with villagers telling terrifying stories of yusuf ali's actions, the man they knew as colonel 2k. >> two men were caught, tide ed a tree, oil was poured on them and they were bent eye. i saw it with my own eyes. >> he caught my brother. hep tied him to a military vehicle and dragged him behind. he said to us, if you've got enough power, get him back. he shredded him into pieces. that's how he died. >> reporter: garan is a smallian who claims in 1988, ali tortured him for months, then shot him twice and ordered guards to bury him alive. he survived and since no international court has jurisdiction, he was turned to civil court in the u.s. to seek damages. in court filings, ali acknowledges he was a colonel in the somali national army, but denies having attempted extrajudicial killing and

torture and denies directing any such actions by his subordinates. ali told us he's been an uber driver for a year and a half and that background check, he said, was easy. >> if you apply tonight, maybe after two days, it will come up. >> reporter: last year, uber tightened its background checks after cnn found convicted felons were able to become rideshare drivers. both uber and lyft say their background checks include criminal offenses and driving incidents and the company that does the screening, checkered, tells cnn in a statement that they rely on public criminal records that have been adjudicated in a court of law rather than unverified sources like google search results. ali has never been convicted of a crime, only accused. mr. ali, i have to give you the opportunity to respond to all the allegations? you may not wish to respond to all the allegations, but the allegations are that basically that you tortured people, murdered people. >> jake, both uber and lyft say they don't review social media or conduct online searches as

part of those background checks on drivers. but when we pointed out ali's history through a simple google search, boit companies took immediate action to remove him. lyft banned him altogether for life. uber has suspended him today, pending a review. that trial expected to wrap up this week in virginia. jake? >> it's unbelievable. drew griffin, thank you so much for that story. the exclusive look at migrant children in heartbreaking conditions, sleeping outside in the dirt at one of the busiest border patrol stations. stay with us. (low battery sound.) do you want a charge? yeah (battery charging.) ♪ how ya like that? ♪ how ya like that? ♪ how ya like that? ♪ how ya like that? ♪ how ya like that? ♪ what you think of me now? thank you so much. (battery charging.) ♪ how ya like that? ♪ what you think of me now? ♪ how ya like that? ♪ what you think of me now?

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an exclusive story in our national lead now. photos obtained by cnn show the appalling overcrowded conditions at the mcallen, texas, border patrol station this weekend. migrants, many of them children, are seen sleeping on the ground. you can even see a baby bottle laying there at the very bottom of your screen and in this photo, one woman is sitting on rocks, leaning up against a wall clutching her child, we presume. the photos come from a source who has access to the facility and was disturbed by the conditions, which has four temporary tents to try to accommodate the swell of migrants. an official from the department of homeland security said in a statement, quote, as multiple dhs officials have been warning for months, the border security and humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. current facilities and funding are inadequate for migrant flows, unquote. you can follow me on facebook and twitter @jaketapper. you can tweet the sho

show @theleadcnn, we actually read them. our coverage on cnn continues right now. thanks for watching. happening now. breaking news. putin praises mueller. russia's leader calls the special counsel's russia report exotic, but objective, stressing that robert mueller found no trace of collusion. that comes as florida's governor reveals two counties in his state were hack eed during the 2016 election. was russia to blame? i didn't ask. president trump praises his attorney general for working with the nation's intel chiefs to review the origins of the russia investigation. the president claims he didn't ask william barr to do so, but he has repeatedly demanded in public a probe to investigate the investigators. war footing. a new report says the military is planning to stage tens of thousands of troops in the middle east after dispatching ships, planes and defensive